Hello there!
Look through the latest posts for ELT materials and resources, or search by using the tags or categories below.
CAE conditionals CPE crime fce Games illustration interview language disorder lesson plan new year phrasal verbs poetry pronunciation reviews speaking vocabulary word formation worksheet writing
Latest posts
ELT Editing: Penny Hands and John Hughes
I recently watched a short YouTube chat hosted by John Hughes with Penny Hands. Here are my main takeaways: 1. The importance of establishing rapport between the writer and the editor from the outset. Aim to have an in-person or at least a videocall so that the writer knows your voice and tone, so that…
Helping teachers to learn: BC course reflection
I took this course in the hope that it would give me ideas for working with teachers, and that it did. My aims in this respect are: – create a community of Kleinson teachers – offer an effective training programme for teachers (effective = they enjoy it, they learn things they feel will be useful…
B2 Word formation Sudoku
I love word formation and have always thought of it as quite a dynamic aspect of language which lends itself easily to gamification. Inspired by the simple 4 x 4 colour Sudokus in my son’s Lego magazines, here are some word formation Sudokus to give a fun yet challenging twist to the end of a…
Poetry lesson: If I Were King – A. A. Milne
The lovely folk over at Freeed.com brought to my attention that World Poetry Day is coming up, so here’s a fun creative writing activity based on a poem by A. A. Milne, the author of Winnie-the-Pooh, using the second conditional and rhyme. Here’s the original poem: I often wish I were a King,And then I…
International Mother Language Day – Advanced Lesson
Several years ago I discovered that 21st February was International Mother Language Day. Of course as a language teacher this fascinates me, and is likely to interest our students as language learners too. This text-based lesson for advanced learners will get them thinking about their own languages and give them some word formation practice at…
Vocabulary illustrations: Crime
Here’s an illustrated sheet of different types of crime. In textbooks they often have a list of the vocabulary with definitions, but I’ve always thought crime is so visual that some illustrations wouldn’t go amiss. You can use this as a vocabulary lesson in its own right, or as an introduction to a unit on…
Teaching vocabulary to students with language difficulties and disorders (Interview with Dr. Hilary Lowe)
I recently had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Hilary Lowe, a speech and language therapist based in the UK who has done extensive research into teaching vocabulary to secondary-age pupils with language disorders. Although this research was focused on monolingual L1 classes – students who struggle to learn vocabulary in their first language within…
‘The British Year’ – Review
I was fortunate enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of ‘The British Year’ from the publisher, and am thrilled to have an opportunity to write a review! It is part of a new series by Fiona Beddall and can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.es/British-Year-Britain-readers-English-ebook/dp/B08PSL68ZN/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 This is an excellent introduction to British culture for beginner…
Past Predictions for 2020
It’s that time of year again: the end, and then the beginning. Having worked at the same academy and with many of the same students for 9 years now, I’ve done most of the standard New Year activities. We’ve done reviews of your past year, which I do enjoy doing, but we’ve spoken a lot…
New Year’s Resolutions with Phrasal Verbs
Here’s an activity I did a while back, adapted for 2021, about using phrasal verbs in New Year’s resolutions. I’ve found that in a monolingual group of students from the same town/age group, an open discussion on New Year’s resolutions tends to be rather short, predictable, and, in a word, dull. They all want to…
Affixes Bingo
This is an extension activity rather than a lesson plan. I have done it with FCE and CAE groups as they should be familiar with a wide range of affixes in order to get through the exams. All Cambridge exam-based course books contain sections to help students become familiar with the prefixes and suffixes necessary…
Stephanie Valerio ELT 